Episode Summary

Stella and Aiden investigate after finding the body of a teenage girl in a creek. They soon realize that she was a middle-class girl attending a fancy school who was trying to make it seem like her family had more money than they did, and trace her movements to a nightclub. Mac and Danny investigate when a body is found in the tunnels without any protective gear on, and end up running into a brick wall when the Sandhogs Union blocks many of their attempts to get information about the victim.moreless

A man a mile and a union on every corner

Its a sad fact of life, the union and whilst it is good for the working people the fact that people can hide behind a union and use it to pervert the course of justice is no right. It is also a shame that people are often mocked for things they cannot help such as asthma.

The problem is that people can be isolated and as it is shown in this episode it isn't fair. A man a mile also highlights that society hasn't advanced as far as it would pretend in some areas with the construction of tunnels still being hard and dangerous work. The second tale of a girl trying to fit in, by pretending to have more money than she really has often happens in real life as people often pretend they are something they're not to fit in.Whilst I understand that sometimes the payoff of being yourself can be harsh, and whilst I understand it is hard work being someone we're not there are often little things we do or say just to fit in.Thats human nature.moreless

Whatever happened to just making friends? A show that compares the life of union tunnelers to the life of a High school teen (There are spoilers in the review)

Two cases that deal with similar issues. Sibling tension. While one is the case of real siblings, the other is the case of friends, one who was considered part of the family (at least by the father) that she (Hannah) was treated more like a daughter than his real daughter (Tina). And outsiders trying to fit in.

It is always interesting to see those who work for the city. And this case involves the sandhogs. The group that makes the majority of tunnels in the city. It was sad that the man died by the hand of his own brother. Just because he had messed up, his brother felt the need to leave him down there. It was oddly refreshing, however, to know that the other coworkers (team members that Pete, the dead man, had hurt in the past) defended Pete and beat up his brother for leaving him down there intentionally. It was sweet, that despite the fact Pete wasn’t careful, they still considered him one of them. I found the “a man a mile” concept interesting. It makes me wonder, why do you go into that sort of job in the first place? I guess it’s because well somebody has to. For others, it’s the only job they can get (those like Pete) and for some it was a dream (Vito seemed rather emphatic about his career). The brother, I felt was kind of a jerk. Actually, I would prefer a stronger word, but don’t want to be too vulgar. His comments however, did make me wonder, who was the older brother? By the way it looked, face wise, it seemed like Pete was the oldest. But the way he acted, it seemed as if the other brother was the oldest.As for the girl in the river. All I can say is Ew. Whoever did her make up did a really good job, because that totally looked like a dead person from water. But it was so disgusting. *shudders*. I couldn’t stand looking at her corpse. (this brings me on an interesting side note- most women committed suicide by jumping in rivers and ponds, or just drowning whatever. Because they felt that it was an eternal beauty, mistakenly. They never realized how ugly the corpse looks after it’s been submerged in water for so long.)I found this case to be an interesting one. What with the killer’s brother (Matt) who was such an obvious liar, and seemed to be a compulsive liar, to the creepy girl who was jealous of her father thinking highly of Hannah. (I wouldn’t be surprised if we find out Tina killed her old man for blooding (the term from the fox hunt) Hannah rather than her. Tina is a WITCH.) I think however her last line served best to describe Hannah and Tina’s relationship. Even though the rest of the family genuinely liked Hannah, (Matt with his relationship and the father with treating her better than his own daughter), Tina never considered Hannah more than an object, or an animal, a pet she could train to be upper-class like her. The phrasing she uses as her last line while creepy proves the point, “There's no feeling in the world like watching the life drain out of an animal's eyes.”moreless

Interesting Twists -

I thought the two different cases where really interesting. From the Sand Hogs digging the tunnels and having their own hierachy, kind of like the rich girl gone bad. Really bad. I like the association with Danny & Joe both having the roles of brother. Just different viewpoints. Mac continues to be the teacher to Danny. Now for poor Hannah who just simply stepped on definitely the wrong toes. I liked the final clue of the Sand Hog ring being found in the tunnel. I also appreciated Stella's final interview, realizing how sinister this young lady was and also dangerous.moreless

Both story lines deal with outsiders fitting in and not in an above average episode.

What was excellent about this episode was that both of the plots could have stood on their own. In this episode, both killings were equally complex and seemingly random. Each had no apparent killer, or at least, there was no one that was definitely innocent. The writing in this episode was good and the acting was great. There should be more Detective Flack in each episode, though when I commented while watching this that it should really be the detective interviewing the suspects, my roommate turned to me and said "You're only saying that because you think he's hot". Well, I was and he is. There should be more of him.moreless

District Attorney Tom Mitford

Guest Star

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (5)

Goof: In a conversation between Stella and Tina they agree that fox hunting has been banned in England. The episode aired on the 3rd of November 2004 but the Bill banning fox hunt was not passed by the House of Commons until the 18th of November 2004 and did not take effect until the 18th of February 2005.

Goof: When Mac and Danny are talking about the Sandhogs, Danny is putting on a latex glove. Then in the next frame, after Mac says "ready," Danny fumbles with the glove and picks up his box without it on.

Goof: The inhaler was mentioned as being beclomethosone based, which is a preventative medication (usually taken morning and night) not a reliever which would be carried by an asthmatic for emergencies/shortness of breath (which would more likely be salbutamol based).

Goof: In the club, as Aiden is checking the security camera, the red light is off. On the close up, the light is on. Even when she points out that the cable was cut, the red light is still on. No other cable is connected to the camera as can be seen.

Goof: When dental molds are compared to the ear mold, they compare the wrong sets. Lower teeth should have been compared. Upper teeth would have been seen on the back of the ear, unless the person who was doing the biting was behind the bitten one, which he wasn't.

Mac: Are you bathophobic?Danny: I'm not anything-phobic. There are just a few things that shake me up. 700 feet of granite between me and daylight is one of them. I don't know how these guys work down here.Mac: Same way we're going to. Rock by rock.

(Tina is being interrogated by Stella, and is explaining something about her father and hunting, and her killing Hannah)Tina Paulson: You know what he remembered most about every kill?Stella: What?Tina Paulson: There's no feeling in the world like watching the life drain out of an animal's eyes.

Danny: Well, if the evidence isn't talking, we got to fill in the blanks somehow. And Joe Riggs is going to wake up one day and realize he's short a brother. In my world, a guy's got to protect himself and his family. Who would you back... your brother or some Union?

(Tom Zito, a "sandhog", is being interviewed at the site)Tom Zito: If it's deeper than a grave and it's in New York City, the sandhogs built it. Commuter tunnels. Subway tunnels. Water tunnels. Without us, there's no New York City.

(Danny and Mac are following the coroners to the lift and see the DA waiting for them on it)Mac: (clears throat) Personal visit from the DA's office?Danny: What happened? You got lost on your way to a press conference? Or you just checking up on us?

NOTES (4)

Title: A Man a Mile, is a reference to an old saying regarding the railroad. When the Transcontinental Railroad was being built it was the Chinese who were actually laying the tracks and supervising the dynamite in the tunnels, and the saying is that 'There is one dead Chinese man for every mile of that railroad.' In this episode, there was a dead man for every mile of tunnel that the construction workers were building under the city.

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